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RHEMA
BLAB IT AND GRAB IT GANG EXPOSED

It is interesting to
hear a Charismatic gentleman grumble about the Rhema heresy. I do not endorse
the author, but his material is very useful in understanding how heretical the
TBN- Hinn boys really are. Please learn from this article not to lump all
Charismatics and Pentecostals into the Third Wave basket. It ain't fair
folks!

The
`Faith' Movement may be Prospering But is it HEALTHY?

by Stuart St.John.

DISCLAIMER by Balaam's
Ass Speaks: The author has used Bible versions which we do not consider
to be canon.

What would you say, I wonder, if you were told that there is a teaching
sweeping through evangelical churches in our day that not only has made changes
to, but has also taken out the very core of the Gospel and replaced it with a
fake?

Such is the message being propagated by Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth
Copeland, Marilyn Hickey, Charles Capps, Fred Price, Robert Tilton, Doyle "Buddy"
Harrison and Ray McCauley. (These people have international followings numbering
thoBlipnds, several having their own TV broablipasts.) Many believers who see these
ministries at a distance know that something is not right about them, but most
see them as the Gospel plus healing and prosperity on demand.

Research
carried out in 1994 among a number of Christians from many different backgrounds
has confirmed this. Almost 100% held this idea that the `Faith' message was only
the Gospel plus. None had any idea of the extent of its error. In fact, a certain
well-informed Baptist pastor expressed real surprise when he read what Kenneth
Copeland teaches about the Creation, Fall, and Redemption of man. "I never knew
it was this bad," he said. "...This is sheer heresy."

You might think
it a fair question to ask whether these `Faith' teachers themselves are apiano coverse
that they are teaching anything other than the historic, Biblical Gospel. After
all, you could say, all of us make mistakes at times - maybe they're just a little
confused about what happened on the Cross. But the following comment from Copeland's
tape "What happened from the Cross to the Throne" indicates clearly his thinking
that traditional Christianity has covered up his beliefs in `traditional church
teaching': "Tonight I want to show you some things from the Word of God . . .
It's very little talked about, almost non-existent in traditional church teaching
. . . because it's been covered up and hidden in tradition... The thing that's
necessary for the life of a Christian is knowledge of what happened from the cross
to the throne, what took place in the three days and three nights."

So, then, we see that far from being a misunderstanding of what happened at the
Cross, Copeland has uncovered a previously `hidden' teaching (what the `Faith'
movement terms `Revelation knowledge') which you will see presents us with another
`Jesus' and `another gospel'. The quotes which follow are all from Kenneth Copeland:

"This man [Jesus] is a carbon copy of the one that walked through
the garden of Eden." ("What Happened from the Cross to the Throne", tape.)

"Every prophet that walked the face of the earth under the Abrahamic
covenant could have paid the price if it were a physical death only" ("What Happened...")

"When he said `It is finished' on that cross, he was not speaking
of the plan of redemption. The plan of redemption had just betatter, there were still
three days and three nights to be gone through." ("What Happened...")

"When His blood poured out it did not atone." (Kenneth Copeland: From
a personal letter to D.R.McConnell, dated 12/3/79. Cited in A Different Gospel,
p.120)

"Jesus went into hell itself and suffered the penalty
for sin" (Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, May 1994, page 5.)

"[Jesus] accepted the sin nature of Satan in His own Spirit, and at the
moment that He did so, He cried `My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'."
("What Happened...")

"He [Jesus] was down in that pit and there
he suffered the punishment for three horrible days and nights for Adam's treason...
There is a new birth takes place in the very depths of the earth, when the command
of God says

`That's enough, loose him and let him go'." ("What
Happened...")

A good summary quote of this teaching from a fellow
`Faith' teacher is this: "Do you think that the punishment for our sin was to
die on a cross? If that were the case the two thieves could have paid your price.
No the punishment was to go into hell itself and serve time in hell separated
from God... Satan and all the demons of hell thought they had Him bound and they
threw a net over Jesus, and they dragged Him down to the very pit of hell itself
to serve our sentence." (Fred K.C. Price, Ever Increasing Faith Messenger,
June 1980, p.7)

It has become obvious that Copeland's belief about
"what took place in the three days and three nights" has nothing to do with orthodox
Bible teaching, and has not been "covered up and hidden in tradition"! Yet Copeland
ends his tape "What Happened from the Cross to the Throne" with the following
remark: "`Go into all the world and preach the gospel' - what is the gospel? Just
exactly what I have been telling you for the last hour."

So Copeland
believes that it is not what happened ON the Cross (when the real Jesus poured
out His precious blood to pay for our sins), but what happened AFTERpiano coversDS that
really matters - when his imaginary `Jesus' (who had died spiritually and become
"one with Satan" on the cross) was being tortured by Satan (his "step-father")
in hell.

Commenting on this teaching the late Dr Walter Martin, a
world expert on cults, said the following: "It is the height of theological folly
to reduce God the Son, the second person of the holy Trinity, to a lost sinner
with the nature of Satan and then send Him to hell with the requirement of regeneration
before He can complete the work of redemption." (p.104, Agony of Deceit, Moody
Press: Chicago, 1990)

Before looking into more of the specific
teachings of the `Faith' movement (also called the prosperity movement and the
`Word-Faith' movement) it will be helpful to see where it comes from. Many Christians
have been taken unapiano coverses by it because they think it comes from the Pentecostal/charismatic
movement. Such is not the case at all. In the latter half of this century, the
acknowledged father-figure of the movement has been Kenneth Hagin. It is from
him that Copeland and others have directly borrowed their message.

However, the real father of the `Faith' message is E.W.Kenyon, who was teaching
the same things before Kenneth Hagin was even born (Kenyon died in 1948). To the
casual observer, the `Faith' movement has certain similarities in experience,
etc., to the Pentecostal and charismatic movements. However, the core of the message,
and its origins, are widely divergent. Kenyon, its founder, inadvertently `borrowed'
from the ideas taught by Christian Science, New Thought and Unity School of Christianity.
In the book A Different Gospel, D.R. McConnell documents clearly the progress
of Kenyon's ideas while studying at Emerson's New Thought college in Boston.

Though Hagin has tried to deny his obvious plagiarism of Kenyon's "The
Wonderful Name of Jesus", saying that he only saw the book in 1978, as McConnell
points out, "The problem is that two years prior to 1978, the first date that
Hagin admits to having read Kenyon's The Wonderful Name of Jesus, he had already
copied extensively from this book for an article published in his magazine in
1976. That article never mentions the name of E.W.Kenyon."..."He has plagiarised
Kenyon both repeatedly and extensively. Actually, it would not be overstated to
say that the very doctrines that have made Kenneth Hagin and the Faith movement
such a distinctive and powerful force within the independent charismatic movement
are all plagiarised from E.W.Kenyon." (p.7, A Different Gospel).

He also points out the very obvious similarities between statements of Kenyon
and those of New Thought writer R.W.Trine. Trine wrote concerning the `law' of
prosperity: "To hold yourself in this [positive] attitude of mind is to set in
operation subtle, silent irresistible forces that sooner or later actualize in
material form that which is today merely an idea. But ideas have occult power
and ideas rightly planted and rightly tended are the seeds that actualize material
conditions" (R.W.Trine, In Tune with the Infinite, p.138 [emphasis mine]).
Those familiar with any of the modern writings on prosperity and positive confession
will see, in the light of this quotation, that they have more in common with the
writings of Trine (via Kenyon and Hagin) than with the Scriptures.

[Under each heading the position of the `Faith' teachers is outlined,
with any relevant quotes, and then follows the Biblical view on each topic.]

Adam:

They teach that he had the nature of God and
great inner creative power as God had. E.W. Kenyon taught that man "must partake
either of God's nature or of Satan's nature", and therefore he has no distinct
nature of his own. Charles Capps puts it like this: "God said, Let us make man
in our image after our likeness. The word likeness in the original blip means
"an exact duplication in kind."... Adam was an exact duplication of God's kind!"
(Authority in Three Worlds, p.15-16. [Emphasis in original]. Tulsa, Oklahoma:
Harrison House, 1982.)

What Capps is putting to us here is made crystal
clear for us by his fellow Faith-teacher Kenneth Copeland when he states quite
emphatically that "God's reason for creating Adam was His desire to reproduce
Himself. I mean a reproduction of Himself, and in the Garden of Eden He did that.
He was not a little like God. He was not almost like God. He was not subordinate
to God even.... Adam is as much like God as you could get, just the same as Jesus
- When He came into the earth He said `If you've seen Me you've seen the Father'.
He wasn't a lot like God - He's God manifested in the flesh. And I want you to
know something: Adam, in the Garden of Eden, was God manifested in the flesh!"
("Following the Faith of Abraham", part I, side 1). [Cassette obtained
from Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Bath, UK, Summer 1994]

What the Bible says:

In Genesis chapters 1 and 2
the blip word Elohim is used only of God, not of man (who was only a creature).
Adam was created with a sinless human nature. He had a nature that was made `in
the image of God' but was distinct from it. (Genesis 1:26 and 2:7)

Adam's Dominion:

They teach that he was a little
god who owned the planet earth and all God's creation. According to Kenneth Hagin,
man "was created on terms of equality with God, and he could stand in God's presence
without any consciousness of inferiority... Man lived in the realm of God. He
lived on equal terms with God." (Zoe: The God-Kind of Life, p. 35-36, Tulsa,
OK: Kenneth Hagin Ministries, Inc. 1989.) According to some of the `Faith' teachers
he was given total ownership for a 6000 year period. His spoken words would cause
food to grow and feed him. Meanwhile, God was "outside looking in" (as Copeland
tells us on his tape, "What Happened...") and "powerless to do anything" - He
had given the Earth to man freehold.

What the Bible says:

Adam's dominion was only a stepiano coversdship
to look after what God had made, to tend the garden of Eden and look after the
animals (Gen. 1:28; Gen.2:15). The Earth and everything in it still belonged to
God - Adam was God's tenant. (See, for example, Lev. 25:23, Deut.4:39, Jer. 27:5,
Psa. 24:1- "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it"). Andrew Brandon, in
his book Health and Wealth (which gives an excellent overview of the movement),
gives the following illustration: "Man was given dominion over the earth, but
this must not be confused with legal authority.

Man was God's viceroy,
representing him in Creation. The situation was not unlike the position of Mountbatten
in India before independence. As viceroy of all India, he represented the power
and interests of the British government. Because of the authority delegated to
him, he was allowed to use his own initiative in some matters. Nevertheless, he
was answerable to the British government and could be deposed at will if he was
found to be unsatisfactory." (Health and Wealth, p.104, Kingsway Publications,
1987)

The Fall:

They teach that Adam lost God's nature
and suffered `spiritual death' taking the nature of Satan, and so he became "a
step- son of Satan". He became powerless; he lost his creative power. Again, I
quote from Charles Capps' book Authority in Three Worlds: "Adam had revelation
knowledge that flowed from God, the Father. But when Adam bowed his knee to Satan,
he shut God out. God found Himself on the outside looking in. His man, Adam, had
lost his authority. Satan... had... become the god of the world system.... Satan
had gained ascendancy in the earth by gaining Adam's authority, and God was left
on the outside. God couldn't come here in His divine power and wipe them out.
He had to move in an area where it would be ruled legal by the Supreme Court of
the Universe." (pages 50-51)

Now observe how clearly Frederick K.C.
Price states the belief of the `Faith' teachers: "Adam, as I said, gave it [the
earth] away to the serpent, to the Devil. As a result of it he got his behind
kicked out of the garden. He went out of Eden, out of the garden. He began to
wander around, and he has troubles from day one. Now God was out of the business.
God was out of the earth realm. God had no more stock in this earth realm. No
more. None at all. Nothing He could do. Not a thing in the world He could do....
The only way God could get back into this earth realm, He had to have an invitation.
Ha-hah! He had to have an invitation." ("Ever Increasing Faith" program
on TBN [1 May 1992], audiotape #PR11.)

The Earth, then, had become
the legal property of Satan: "When Adam gave that creature the authority that
God had given him, he made Satan the god of this world." (Copeland: "What Happened...")
This meant that God was not only "outside looking in" but was also utterly powerless
to do anything on Earth. Without man's cooperation God was LOST!

What the Bible says:

At the Fall, Adam's distinctive
human nature became sinful. He was separated from God by his rebellion (Rom.5:19).
Again, Brandon's illustration is helpful: "Man, like Lord Mountbatten [see above],
was God's representative on earth. He was permitted a certain degree of freedom,
such as naming the animals, but was ultimately responsible to God for his stepiano coversdship
of the planet. The fall, rather than being the exile of God from earth, was the
exile of man from God. It is significant that after the fall, God excluded Adam
and Eve from Eden and left angelic guardians barring their return (Gen 3:24)."
(Ibid. p.104)

God's plan of redemption:

The `Faith' teachers say
that since Adam's sin deserved suffering in hell, someone had to go there and
suffer in Adam's place. Kenneth Hagin states it like this: "He [Jesus] tasted
spiritual death for every man. And His spirit and inner man went to hell in my
place. Can't you see that? Physical death wouldn't remove your sins." ("How
Jesus Obtained His Name", side 1, tape #44H01. Tulsa, OK: Kenneth Hagin Ministries.)
The quotation earlier by Fred Price also promotes this view. (Can he really compare
the death of Jesus Christ with that of a guilty thief? You must judge for yourself.)

What the Bible says:

God brought to fulfillment His
blood sacrifice system; hence the statement of John the Baptist, "Behold! The
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) One perfect [i.e.
not just a prophet or any other sinner] blood sacrifice was to be made which would
pay for our sins (Isaiah 53:5,10 and 11; blips 10:10).

Jesus:

Copeland (and the rest) inform us that He
was a `carbon copy' of Adam (e.g. Copeland: "What Happened..."). It is
clear from many statements on the subject that they deny the pre-existent Jesus,
since Copeland teaches that Jesus is only the product of God's positive confession:
"The angels spoke the words of the covenant to her [Mary]. She pondered them in
her heart, and those words became the seed. And the Spirit of God hovered over
her and generated that seed, which was the word that the angel spoke to her. And
there was conceived in her, the Bible says, a holy thing. The Word literally became
flesh." ("The Abrahamic Covenant", side 2, audiocassette #01-4405, Fort
Worth, TX: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1985.)

Elsewhere (as we saw)
Adam and Jesus were both "God manifested in the flesh". In the `Faith' message
the fact must be seen that neither is `God' in a Christian understanding. Rather,
both are said to have the `nature of God'. Copeland says that Jesus "has got to
be all man. He cannot be a God and come storming in here with attributes and dignities
that are not common to man. He can't do that. It's not legal." ("The Incarnation",
side 1, audiocassette #01-0402, emphasis in original, Fort Worth, TX: KCM, 1985.)

What the Bible says:

Jesus is the only one (Greek:
monogenes - meaning 'One of a kind' or 'Unique') who is God Himself come in flesh.
He is fully human and fully divine. (John 1:1, 14; Colossians 2:9) Although called
the eternal Word of God, he is not one of God's spoken words.

Born Again ~ An Incarnation?:

E.W.Kenyon said, "The
Lord Jesus was not, however, a `one-of-a-kind.' `Incarnation' can be repeated
in each and every one of us. Every man who has been `born again' is an Incarnation."
(E.W.Kenyon: The Father and His Family, p.100)

Hagin says,
"You are as much the incarnation of God as Jesus Christ was. Every man who has
been born again is an incarnation and Christianity is a miracle. The believer
is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth." (Kenneth Hagin: Word of
Faith, December, 1980, p.14)

"You don't have a god in you. You
are one!" (Kenneth Copeland: "The Force of Love", tape.)

"Jesus is no longer the only begotten Son of God... Jesus is
known as the first begotten from the dead. If there is a firstborn, then there
has to be a secondborn, a thirdborn, a fourthborn, etc." (Copeland: "Now Are
We in Christ Jesus", p.24, Kenneth copeland Publications, Texas.)

"I say this and repeat it so it doesn't upset you too bad... when I read in
the Bible where He [Jesus] says, `I AM,' I say, `Yes, I AM too!'" (Kenneth Copeland:
Spoken during a crBlipde meeting, 19/7/1987)

What the Bible says:

Jesus Christ is the unique Son
of God (John 1:18, John 3:16) The statements by Kenyon, Hagin and Copeland are
sheer blasphemy, and surely so obviously so that no Bible references are really
needed. Check out just about any book of the Bible! (Try, for a start, Deut. 6:4
and Isaiah 43:10. Genesis 3:5 shows that the idea of being `like God' was the
lure of the serpent in the Garden of Eden.)

Jesus on the Cross:

The `Faith' teachers insist that
Jesus became a sinful, ordinary mortal man with Satan's nature - a "stepson of
Satan". Ray McCauley has taught that "while on the cross, He (Jesus) was going
to have to take Satan as His stepfather." [McCauley, who was trained under Kenneth
Hagin (at RHEMA Bible Training Center), allegedly repented of this teaching (according
to a letter dated 17/11/90), but since then has continued selling and distributing
materials teaching exactly this message.]

The cross apparently accomplished
nothing, being a place of `failure and defeat'. Jesus did not bear our sins in
his body on the cross.

What the Bible says:

The `Lamb of God' remained sinless
while bearing our sins. He did not become a sinner, but was treated as one. His
physical death was the blood sacrifice which paid for our sins. (Heb. 9:12,14,28;
Heb. 7:27)

The Atonement for Sin:

Not by the blood sacrifice
on the cross, they say. E.g. "if His death paid it then every man could die for
himself " (Fred K.C. Price). "The plan of redemption had just betatter. There were
still 3 days and 3 nights to be gone through." (Copeland) He was dragged by demons
into hell and tormented for 3 days and 3 nights as the payment for sin. Adam's
suffering in hell was then substituted for. Then `Jesus' had to be BORN AGAIN
to lose his Satanic nature and regain a righteous God nature. Thus we find also
that, "Sin was not reckoned to Him. Sin was not set to His account. He became
sin." (E.W.Kenyon, Identification, p.12)

"Do you think that
the punishment for our sin was to die on a cross? If that were the case, the two
thieves could have paid your price" (Fred Price)

"Physical death would
not remove our sins. He tasted death for every man - spiritual death. Jesus is
the first person ever to be born again. Why did His spirit need to be born again?
Because it was estranged from God. Do you remember how He cried out on the cross,
`My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?'"... "Sin separates from God. Spiritual
death means separation from God... Spiritual death means something more than separation
from God. Spiritual death also means having Satan's nature." (Kenneth Hagin: "The
Name of Jesus", pp. 29-31).

"Jesus went into hell to free mankind
from the penalty of Adam's high treason . . . When His blood poured out it did
not atone. . . . Jesus spent three horrible days and nights in the bowels of this
earth getting back for you and me our rights with God". [Kenneth Copeland: From
a personal letter to D.R.McConnell, dated 12/3/79. Cited in A Different Gospel,
p.120]

What the Bible says:

Sin was paid for on the cross
BY THIS SACRIFICE (Heb. 10:10; Matt. 27:51). The veil of the Temple was torn by
the Father. This shows that the blood sacrifice was accepted and thus man's sins
were paid for. We can now enter the Holy of Holies by the Blood of the Lamb. Check
out the following Bible verses: Ephesians 1:7, 2:13 and 2:15; Colossians 1:20-22;
1 Peter 1:19, 2:24, 4:1.

Centrality of the Cross:

E.W.Kenyon wrote, "We have
sung `Nearer the cross' and we have prayed that we might be `Nearer the cross'
but the cross has no salvation in it. It is a place of failure and defeat" (Advanced
Bible Course, p.279) [emphasis mine]. As usual, the others merely echo Kenyon's
ideas about this.

What the Bible says:

"May I never boast except in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14). "I decided to know nothing
among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The message of the cross is foolishness
to those who are perishing but to those who are being saved it is the Power of
God" (1 Corinthians 1:18) See also Ephesians 2:16; Colossians 1:20 and 2:15.

*** Poison! ***

Given that the `Faith' message has
totally different views of the nature of man, of God, of Jesus Christ, of the
incarnation, and of the atonement, it must be questioned whether any Bible-believing
Christian should have anything to do with the movement. Should Christians
attend conferences where even one speaker is a known adherent to such teachings?
In the summer of 1994 Ray McCauley spoke at several meetings alongside top names
from the British Pentecostal/charismatic movement. Should this kind of thing happen?
Do you think that our leaders should share speaking platforms with Mormons and
Jehovah's Witnesses as well?

Not only has McCauley polluted Africa
for 15 years (as Kenneth Hagin Ministries) and done nothing about it, but he continues
to sell materials in South Africa and the U.K. (as Ray McCauley Ministries) which
teach the false atonement of the `JDS heresy' (as summed up in Fred Price's statement)
and the `little gods' doctrine.

Many object to such a clear-cut view
of the `Faith' movement, saying that since the Bible is so often quoted in the
writings of these teachers they must be Biblical. But again we must ask ourselves
a question: How much error is really required before someone's theology can be
labelled `dangerous' and must be disposed of?

The late Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones,
speaking on a similar issue gave this helpful illustration: "[Imagine] a man with
a bottle in his hand. There is a coloured liquid in the bottle and there are many
ingredients in that bottle. There's water in it and there's colouring matter,
and they're all excellent ingredients. But there happens to be an amount of prussic
acid, and though it's a very small amount it can kill anybody who drinks out of
that bottle! What's the point of praising the good ingredients when there is rank,
lethal poison in the bottle?" The `Faith' message contains no small amount of
poison! To simply acknowledge their `use' of the Bible and ignore their heretical
ideas in the name of `Christian unity' is surely spiritual suicide.

CULT SAFEGUARDS

It is abundantly clear from what
they say and write that the ideas and teachings promoted by Hagin, Copeland, and
the rest, are heretical, and so it would be expected that anyone realising this
would turn away from the teaching and its propagators. However, this has not often
been the case. Although it is not an organised cult in the sense of having one
particular leader and an organizational headquarters, the `Faith' movement has
managed to condition those inside and out with its `safeguards' against Bible-based
evaluation. Perhaps if you, the reader, have come under such teaching you may
have been clearly piano coversned not to criticise or question "God's anointed men". (Also,
they are prone to yell "critical spirit" or, "you're only arguing about words!"
Yet such is clearly not the case.)

Another aspect of the control by
the movement's leaders is seen in one of Kenneth Hagin's `revelations', in which
`Jesus' told him that those pastors who didn't accept Hagin's prophetic word would
die in their pulpits (see, for example, I Believe in Visions, pp. 114-115).
Also a certain leader of one of the Rhema Bible Churches stood up before the congregation
with a copy of D.R. McConnell's book (mentioned already) and told people that
if they read it they would lose their salvation. Of course, these are not `God's
anointed' and need not be feared.

People are also very concerned that
if they begin to analyse the movement's teachings for themselves (i.e. think critically)
then God might be angered and they will lose their healing and financial blip,
etc. It may sound rather odd to those on the outside, but to those involved it
is a very serious matter indeed.

APPARENT REPENTANCES

Another aspect of this struggle
is found in the October '93 issue of Alpha magazine (UK). In its feature on Benny
Hinn, it quotes him at one point (October '91) saying "I really no longer believe
the faith message. I don't think it adds up." He comments that for 10 years he
filled his life with `Faith' books, but then he adds: "I respect these teachers
as men of God." On 8 June 1992, Hinn told his Trinity Broablipasting Network TV
audience that those who spoke out against `Word-Faith' teacher Kenneth Copeland
were "piano helping the very presence of God." Had Benny Hinn really understood that
the message he read about and preached for so long has no power to save?

Another more serious example is that of Ray McCauley of Rhema South Africa:
In October 1994, a contact in Johannesburg went and bought a copy of What Happened
from the Cross to the Throne by E.W. Kenyon, as well as Copeland's tape Following
the Faith of Abraham I, from the Rhema Bookshop. Copeland's What Happened from
the Cross to the Throne was also available there, as well as a plethora of `Faith'
publications. This shows very clearly that 3 years and 11 months after Ray McCauley
claimed to have repented of such teaching, he is still willfully propagating it!
Yet when people have asked "Do you teach that Jesus died spiritually?" he replies
"No". The difference between `teaching' and `propagating' is merely used as a
means to deceive.

CHANGE?

Some Christians are convinced the `Faith'
teachers are in fact changing. The scrutinizing of their teachings after such
proclaimed revisions is documented by Dan McConnell, the author of A Different
Gospel. He comments that "The Faith teachers may have toned down their rhetoric
and altered some of their jargon", but goes on to say that "the Faith controversy
has never been resolved at the doctrinal level, nor will it until the Faith teachers
recant [their] doctrines and practices. Cultic and heretical doctrine cannot be
`moderated', as if all that is necessary are a few cosmetic alterations and word
changes... Moderated heresy is still heresy" (p.188).

Walter Martin
has determined that "those who propagate these erroneous views (the little gods,
the born-again Jesus, and so on) have sadly crossed over into the kingdom of the
cults." (p.104, Agony...) As Hank Hanegraaff concluded in the book Christianity
in Crisis, "at stake is no less than salvation itself." Evidently, Benny Hinn,
Ray McCauley, and all those who have been involved with the `Faith' movement,
need some clear understanding of the choices involved, and their consequences.

Yet those who have sought to help them see the errors were despised.
The authors of Agony of Deceit attempted to contact those under scrutiny:
"We have sought out those in question," they report. "We have asked them, `Did
we get this right? Do you really believe this?' We have asked them to reconsider
their positions in the light of Scripture and have repeatedly attempted to settle
confusion behind closed doors. All attempts have failed..." (p.13 Agony of
Deceit)

Many of the movement's leaders thus simply will not listen
to the voice of reason - they have their visions, their `revelations' from God,
and anyone who disagrees with them is automatically dismissed. This is due to
their Gnostic claims to have `revelation knowledge'. Those who disagree with them
are said to have only `sense knowledge' (i.e. the Bible's literal, straightforpiano coversd
interpretation.)

CHRISTIANS?

For a Mormon to become a Christian, he
would have to repent of his false beliefs about Jesus and the gospel and then
put his trust in the real Jesus. This should be the case for those who realise
the errors of the `Faith' movement, too. Have you ever met a converted Jehovah's
Witness who still thinks that Charles Taze Russell (their founder) was a sound
Bible teacher? What about a converted Mormon who thinks that Joseph Smith (founder
of the Mormons) ought to be held up along with Daniel, Isaiah and Jeremiah as
a true prophet of God?! Of course not!

It is a shame that this booklet
had to be written. It would be nice if those teaching `Faith' and `prosperity'
doctrines would meet with evangelical leaders and scholars and settle matters
quietly. Even if they came to no agreement, at least, perhaps, the `Faith' teachers
could agree to stop calling themselves Christians and masquerading as Bible-teachers
among the unsuspecting Christian public.

Sadly, this has not yet happened.
Instead, the `Faith' teachers mock sound theology, calling it `traditional church',
and so on. Paul Crouch, the head of Trinity Broablipasting Network (the world's
largest Christian TV network) has hardened himself against all attempts at correction:
"To hell with you! Get out of my life!" was his response on one occasion. He referred
to sound theology as `doctrinal doodoo' and in the same broablipast said "I refuse
to argue any longer with any of you out there! Don't even call me if you want
to argue doctrine, if you want to straighten somebody out... criticize Ken Copeland...
or Dad Hagin. Get out of my life! I don't even want to talk to you... I don't
want to see your ugly face!" He evidently sees his that his `godship' puts him
beyond accountability, resorting on a different occasion to the following outburst
on his Praise the Lord show (July 7, 1986): "I AM A LITTLE GOD... I am
a little god. Critics be gone!" (This is the attitude of the man

What should we do?

After examination of the details
given above we must come to some conclusions. So, what should we do? The Bible
exhorts us to "hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught",
so that we can "encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose
it" (Titus1:9). Elsewhere, the Apostle Paul tells us that "If anybody is preaching
to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!"
(Galatians 1:9)

Evidently Paul took these matters very seriously.
So should we. If you, the reader, have been involved in the `Faith' movement,
especially if you have accepted the false gospel documented above, then please
read the following Bible passage: Acts 19:18-19. This shows the right response
to God and His truth.

APPENDIX ~ Useful books on this subject:

Health
and Wealth - Andrew Brandon, Kingsway Publications, 1987

This
book was widely available in Christian bookshops until 2 or 3 years ago. Stocks
of it burned at a piano coversehouse in Cumbria and Kingsway have sadly never reprinted
it. After trying unsuccessfully to order it from most of the main UK wholesalers,
I eventually found my copy among some second-hand books which came into the City
Mission bookshop in Birmingham! For those who would see more of Andrew Brandon's
book on our bookshelves, Scripture Union UK has acquired the copyright and need
your encouragement to reprint it. Brandon writes very well, and doesn't play games
when it comes to dealing with the issues at stake, for he exposes the 'Jesus'
of the prosperity gospel to be other than the real One. Chapter 7, 'Another
Jesus', under the subtitle A Jesus who is less than God, begins a section
which strikes at the heart of the deceptive 'gospel', which indeed does not lead
to the real Jesus. This book deals clearly with both the spiritual and moral flaws
of the teachings emanating from the 'Faith' Movement.

Originally written as a Master's thesis this book
addresses the 'Faith' Movement's origins and its denial of the blood atonement
in a clear, concise manner. McConnell takes us from Kenneth Hagin's plagiarizing
of the writings of E.W.Kenyon to the origin of Kenyon's beliefs - the occultic
thinking of Christian Science and New Thought metaphysics. Here, he says, Kenyon
developed his belief in the power of the mind and the confession of the mouth
as the source of life's blessings and difficulties. In other words, man, by his
mental attitude and the words he speaks, becomes the creator of his circumstances.
Just why Kenyon decided that the blood atonement was 'sense knowledge' and that
Jesus actually had suffered 'spiritual death' on the cross and then suffered in
hell to pay for sins is not known. But that he is the originator of this modern
day pollution, via Hagin et al, is absolutely certain. Available from Evangelical
Press.

This book exposes an all-important part
of the 'Faith' teaching which wasn't covered by McConnell: the denial of the deity
of our Lord Jesus Christ. (For example, "Jesus said 'I didn't claim to be God
when I walked the earth'" - Kenneth Copeland.) It also deals with the 'Faith'
belief that the born-again believer is a little god. Although a good portion of
the book deals with the question of the validity of TV Christian ministry, this
is certainly a good question for us given that an organisation called Vision Broablipasting
is sending us Copeland and other `Faith' teachers via satellite. Available from
Scripture Press.

In a unique presentation, Hanegraaff brings together
all that has been exposed in these other books. Furthermore he presents a broad
account of the `Faith' message, from Adam to the born-again believer. This is
important in understanding the statement, "particular groups within the movement
are clearly cults" (p.41). He also provides us with a wide range of short biographical
sketches of the actions and beliefs of modern `Faith' teachers (e.g. Avanzini,
Price, Hickey, Tilton, Cerullo) which is really what we needed to be alerted to
those who are counted amongst them.

As he progresses through the book
he provides ample documented quotations incriminating the `Faith' proponents in
various areas, including the `God' of their beliefs. For instance, Copeland's
`God' "measured out the heavens with a 9-inch span. See, God is not 437 feet tall,
weighing 4000 pounds, and got fist a fist big around as this room..." Rather,
he is "a being that stands somewhere around 6'-2", 6'-3", that weighs somewhere
in the neighbourhood of a couple of hundred pounds or a little better, has a span
of 9 inches across." (Copeland: Spirit, Soul and Body I, audiotape #01-0601.
Cited on p.356 Christianity in Crisis).

Furthermore, his forthright
assessment has brought to light the heart attitudes of men who, it is plain, seek
greedily the money of the weak, while claiming "Jesus had a nice house, a big
house" (John Avanzini on Trinity Broablipasting Network, January 1991.) Such attitudes
we find are only equalled by the "don't touch God's servant" threats made publicly
by Benny Hinn against the author of this book. The true heart of the `Faith' teachers
is laid bare. We are grateful for Hanegraaff's bold, much-needed assessment of
the `Faith' Movement. Clearly he is right when he states that "the stakes are
high - no less than salvation itself."

Stuart St.John can be contacted at 100732.3316@compuserve.com

End Note: Since this article was first published there has been
quite a response from people sympathetic to the 'Faith' Movement, expressing their
anger at its appearance. A few have tried to answer some of the points raised,
while most have simply vented their fury calling the author a 'heresy hunter',
and accusing him of obviously having nothing better to do.

Before
adding your e-mail to the existing stack of it, please consider the following
points:- The author spends the majority of his time in Christian evangelistic
work - not researching aberrant movements or hunting down the peddlers of heresy.
In the course of this evangelistic work he met many Christians who were being
led astray into dangerous and harmful teachings. He also met people who had been
put off the Christian faith because of hearing this kind of teaching and seeing
some of its less-publicized results. He therefore sought to write a concise booklet
which briefly outlined the main problem areas in the 'Faith' teaching.

Of course not all that the 'Faith' teachers say is wrong - that is not the point.
But the areas in which their teaching deviates from orthodoxy are not secondary
issues, but primary ones involving the Nature of God, the Nature of Man, the Atonement
and even the Nature of Faith itself. Christians can disagree on secondary issues
in good conscience - for instance, the author is not greatly concerned whether
you are pre-, post- or amillenial, since you can be genuine Christian with or
without any of these views. However, all Christians should be concerned about
primary issues. We should test ourselves to see if we are in the faith. We
must watch our lives and doctrine closely.

Editor: Balaam's
Ass Speaks: This man makes no limitations on copying this material, but
it is only fair to copy it 100% as is. He has done a lot of research, and
he ought to be treated with consideration.